Origins and History of American Government

Limited government
o Magna Carta- 1215 CE
Established the belief that the powers of government are
limited not unlimited.
o English Bill of Rights-1688
Established basic rights to English citizens that could not be
removed
o John Locke-1688
Natural Right
o Representative Government-1783
American colonist believed strongly in representation in
Government
House of Burgess (Virginia)
Mayflower Compact
Self-Government
o Mayflower compact-1620
Showed colonists had plans to governed themselves
o Colonial Legislature
Established separation of powers (checks and balances)
o First Continental Congress
Voted for embargo against Britian unitl colonies got
representative
o 2
nd
Continental Congress
Raised an Army and Navy to protect America from the British
o Declaration of Independence-1776
America declared its independence from great Britian
Article of Confederations
o Structure
o Unicameral- single chamber Congress (Like our senate today)
Each state elected one Representative
o No executive or Judical Branches
o Congress power
Law making
o Powers that the States had:
Make war and peace
Send and receive ambassadors
Enter into treaties
Raise and equip an Army and Navy
Fix standard measurements
Regulate Indian affairs
Establish post offices
Decide disputes among states
o Weakness
Could not levy tazes
Could not regulate trade
Could not enforce laws it made
9 or 13 needed approval to make a law
all 13 states had to agree to amend the acrtice
No Executive Branch
No national courts- state courts interpreted laws
o Problems
Could not pay revolutionary war veterans
Shays Rebellion
Farmers were charged tariffs to sell goods across state
line
These tariffs made it impossible for farmers to make a
profit
o If a farmer could no pay their debt they were
jailed.
Daniel Shays, a former revolutionary war veteran and a
farmer, wanted to siege Boston and force the
Government to help them

The Philosophers and Social Contract
Social Contract
o An agreement among the members of an organized society or
between the governed and the government defining and
limiting their rights and duties of each other
Thomas Hobbes
o Believed that religion and government should be separated
o Believed that mankind was greedy, Driven by passion and
needed to be kept in check by a powerful ruler.
o Leviathan discussed Hobbes idea of an articifical man the
state as an all powerful human being
John Locke
o He was against the divine right of kings
o Many of his idea were written into the declaration of indepence
Governments are created to protect the right of the
people
People are guaranteed basic rights
Life
Liberty
Property
Voltaire
o One of the first philophers to champion civil rights
Freedom of speech
Religious tolerance
Rights to a Fair Trail
Rousseau
o Believed in Majority rule-government should do whatever the
majority of the people wanted
o Individual rights
o Believed that if the people were in control then the rules
should be strictly enforced
Montesquieu
o Believed people should have individual rights (Similar to
Locke)
o Believed that the government should be split into sections and
that their should be checks and balances